If You Could Hear My Heart

To say he wasn't angry would be a lie, but now that Xu Chaomu and Xiaobao were both safe and sound, Shen Chi felt more like he was listening to an old story.

"The fact proves the drug worked well, and bribing Dr. Li was absolutely worth it," Bai Man sneered coldly. "That Dr. Li was so scared. Whatever I asked her to do, she did it."

"Previously, you took Xu Chaomu's maternity records from a doctor at the hospital, and later, that doctor was also killed by you?" Shen Chi asked.

"Yes, exactly. Honestly, I've lost count of how many people I've directly or indirectly killed." Bai Man's tone was nonchalant, as if none of this mattered anymore. "You know? Jian Sisi didn't drown herself—it was me who had someone push her into the river."

"Jian Sisi?"

"Surprised? My plan had started a long time ago. Jian Sisi was just a pawn in my game."

"What use was she to you? Jian Sisi was nothing more than a brainless woman," Shen Chi remarked, struggling to recall her face.

"Exactly, brainless. She kept running her mouth about that time at the Paris Hotel, claiming she slept with you. It got in the way of my schemes, so I found her annoying and killed her. At that time, Jian Sisi was already mentally unstable. When she fell into the water, no one suspected anything."

Shen Chi hadn't expected this revelation, though whether it was known to him or not made no real difference.

Bai Man's escalating cruelty was something he should have anticipated.

"Do you want to know what my plan was, Shen Chi? I thought it was flawless." Bai Man smiled sardonically, but no plan, however flawless, could escape the scrutiny of Shen Chi and Xiao Mo.

"There's no such thing as a perfect plan. A fox's tail will always be exposed one day. To cover one lie, you must spin hundreds more, and among those lies, not every one can remain airtight," Shen Chi said calmly.

Bai Man conceded; Shen Chi was right.

Perhaps this was the fundamental difference between her and Shen Chi—he was too rational.

"I don't know if you've seen the fake video I sent Xu Chaomu…" Bai Man said casually.

"I've seen it."

Xu Chaomu had already told him about it.

"Exactly. I wanted to use that fake video to tell you that the person who slept with you back then wasn't Xu Chaomu, nor was it Jian Sisi—it was a stranger." Bai Man's face radiated a chilling grimness.

Shen Chi considered this for a moment, the cigarette burning between his fingers.

After several seconds of silence, he spoke slowly, "You intended to wait a few months and then have this stranger show up with a child, claiming it's mine to reintegrate into the family?"

"Shen Chi, you really are smart," Bai Man burst out laughing. "Then can you guess what comes next?"

Shen Chi let out a cold laugh. "And that supposed child, it's Xiaobao you've stolen, isn't it?"

"Shen Chi, you're really too clever. I couldn't hide anything from you…"

This was, indeed, Bai Man's plan—to have a woman bring Xiaobao back to the Shen Family. Even a paternity test wouldn't raise any suspicions.

"But, Shen Chi, you got one thing wrong," Bai Man corrected. "I wouldn't have a random woman come forward. I would do it myself."

Shen Chi frowned, staring at this woman before him.

"I even concocted the lies. I would say that the child's mother died during childbirth and happened to entrust the baby to me," Bai Man said. "And you know what? I also drugged Xiaobao. Once he's addicted, he won't be able to leave me. When the time comes, whether you like me or not, you'll have to keep me around because of Xiaobao."

This part, Shen Chi hadn't considered.

Drugging an infant—such a ruthless and vicious act—only Bai Man could do it.

And in truth, Bai Man had indeed done it.

If Xiao Mo hadn't discovered it in time, Xiaobao would've ingested far more of the drug.

If he became addicted, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

"Wasn't my plan well thought out? I'd planned to kill Xu Chaomu the moment I returned to the Shen Family." Bai Man laughed heartily. "But, before I could even put all this into action, you caught Xiuxiu and Dr. Li."

Seeing Shen Chi remain silent, Bai Man continued, "I was just one step away."

"Oh, and by the way, when I became Mrs. Shen and got our marriage certificate, I planned to give you a son," Bai Man added, as though immersed in her web of lies. "By then, Xiaobao—this little pawn—would be cognitively impaired from all the drugs I fed him. You would be heartbroken, but there'd be nothing you could do. At that point, you'd pour all your love into my child instead."

"I would show such 'care' for Xiaobao and his condition, ensuring him and his inheritance belonged to me when he grew up," Bai Man laughed.

She had planned for many, many years into the future. Yet, before those years could arrive, she was already trapped in a prison of her own making.

As she looked at the cold, fortified walls around her, a deep sorrow surged within her.

In her dreams, things weren't supposed to end like this.

Shen Chi realized that the woman before him was far more horrifying than he had ever imagined.

Five years had done nothing to make her remorseful. Instead, they had only sharpened her cunning.

Listening to her recount one plan after another, Shen Chi had to admit—they were nearly flawless.

Xiaobao was his and Xu Chaomu's child. Even a paternity test wouldn't raise any doubt.

"Shen Chi, tell me, am I not brilliant? If I'm so smart, why can't I have you?" Bai Man asked with a bitter smile, her eyes brimming with disappointment and despair.

"Tell me, where did I go wrong? Where did I go wrong…"

Bai Man still couldn't figure out which step of hers had gone astray.

Her low murmurs echoed within the narrow walls of the room.

"You went wrong in being too confident in yourself. You went wrong in understanding so little about me," Shen Chi finally spoke, his tone deep and resonant like a cello, each word striking Bai Man's heart.

"What?" Bai Man looked at Shen Chi in disbelief, utterly bewildered.

Did she not know him well enough?

"Don't you understand? Even if your plan progressed to the point of bringing Xiaobao to me, I would never let you become Mrs. Shen," Shen Chi's voice remained icily detached. "I waited five years for Xu Chaomu without marrying. I wouldn't mind waiting a lifetime for her. On the contrary, bringing the child here would have only made me suspicious of you."

"If the plan reached that stage, you would still be exposed sooner rather than later," Shen Chi remarked sharply, fixing her with an unforgiving gaze.

Bai Man fell silent for a long time after hearing Shen Chi's words.

So… she didn't understand Shen Chi well enough?

Yes. If he had waited for five years with the intention of waiting forever, how could he care about waiting another year or two?

Even if Xu Chaomu were dead, Bai Man still wouldn't have been able to marry Shen Chi.

No matter how perfect her plan, it was doomed to collapse at that point.

Shen Chi looked at her, taking a drag from his cigarette. "And besides, your plan never even reached that phase."

"Heh, I should've known better than to pick you and Xiao Mo as opponents!"